It is May, the month of AP exams and finals. Yippee. The topic of procrastination seemed a fitting topic to cover. Without a doubt, most individuals reading this is likely to have a looming piece of work that has not managed to trigger the “panic mode” alert in their minds just yet. If procrastination most likely always ends up in a scramble to meet a deadline, as many of us have experienced– then why do we do it? Is it because of social media, Netflix, and other sources of entertainment? Yes and no – these are the main facilitators that lead to distraction, yet the cycle of procrastination itself is different. A New York Times article by Charlotte Liebermann reveals that procrastination is not poor time management or laziness. It can be a way of coping with uncomfortable emotions and a negative mindset, for example, frustration, anxiety, and self-doubt. Interviewee Dr. Pychyl from the Procrastination Research group of Carleton University describes procrastination as “the primacy of short-term mood repair…” As many of us can relate, regulating emotions is not at the top of our priority list.
This alluring habit of putting work off can seem sustainable at the time, yet this belief is entirely false. The amygdala is the part of our brain that is responsible for decision-making and triggering the fight or flight response. A psychologist from UCLA claims that “We weren’t designed to think ahead into the future because we needed to focus on providing for ourselves here and now.” This is exactly what the amygdala embodies: it is concerned with evading or removing yourself from a threatening or stressful situation rather than directly facing it.
The perception of the difficulty of the task increases the more one procrastinates. This is part of the reason the procrastination cycle is so challenging to escape. Griffin Nguyen ‘26 describes the cycle of procrastination and breaks it into six phases: 1) There is a task needed to be completed, 2) Estimates the time it will take to finish and the scale of difficulty, 3) Find excuses and activities to distract one’s mind for further delay, 4) Wait until very last opportunity to do the work feasibly or not at all, 5) Promise that next time to avoid this situation, 6) Repeat. As you can tell, procrastination is all quite situational.
Liebermann reinforces the concept that procrastination can be sustainable for a short period of time but can lead to chronic stress and negative associations with work. Regarding AP exams and finals week, here is a technique that has been proven to aid students in stressful and heavy workload situations: it is called the Pomodoro Technique. It is a time management strategy that divides work into even blocks. This strategy emphasizes how to effectively use time to work . The way it works is one “pomodoro” represents a chunk of time. It can be anywhere from 20-30 minutes. After every Pomodoro takes a short 5-10 minute break, goes outside, or go listen to music! Repeat this until what is needed to be done. Every four pomodoros, take a long break of around 30 minutes. The pomodoro technique encourages productive use of time and utilizes breaks, in turn, restoring energy.
In general, establishing a system for studying can increase your motivation and productivity in x amount of time. In the end, one must understand that burnout and lack of motivation will be inevitable at points in one’s academic career. Procrastination can seem like a feasible solution, but in today’s world, student life is turbulent and demanding. Consider the fact that it might be easier to create a system that works for you to avoid the additional stress because there should be time to stop and enjoy the little things in life.
